My new mahogany Coin Cabinet

[Kaleun96]

My new mahogany coin cabinet just arrived this week and I could not be more pleased with it. I ordered it from Rob Davis Cabinets in the UK just before the New Year and while it was only meant to take about 6-10 weeks, rather than nearly 6 months, in the end it was definitely worth it and Rob's craftsmanship is top tier as far as I can tell. The drop door, for example, fits just perfectly into the gap with a satisfying sound and the gaps around the door are evenly spaced and minimal. There's also nice attention to detail with the wood grain arrangement and the finishing on all the edges.

This model has 6 trays and you can choose the recess depth and from three different "sizes". I went for 7mm deep recesses and the following trays:

• 1x 45mm holes, 12 holes per tray
• 3x 35mm holes, 20 holes per tray
• 2x 28mm holes, 30 holes per tray

Now for the photo spam...

[Prieure de Sion]

Fantastic! Excellent! Can’t find the best words. A worthy home for your treasures.

[Qcumbor]

OMG ! that's fabulous, thanks for sharing

 

Q

[CPK]

That's beautiful! Well worth the wait!

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

It's certainly lovely, as are the coins. Are  there tags underneath the coins?

[Spirityoda]

Wow.  Beautiful.  Looks very expensive.

[nikitov]

Yay! I wanna get one now. I was thinking of saving up for Peter Nichols cabinet to store my crummy coins but this one is much cheaper & looks nice too.

Omfg the Royal Mint is ripping everyone off by reselling his cabinets for 130 lbs more than on his website & you can't even customize hole sizes.

How deep are the holes? Do they fit all your chunky greek coins? You have a lot of Aspendos staters. I like the one on the second to bottom row in the middle since it's in an incuse square 😃 Also that phoenician dishekel looks nice, I've always wanted one

[Kamnaskires]

Beautifully crafted - an appropriate housing for your outstanding collection!

[Kaleun96]

1 hour ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

It's certainly lovely, as are the coins. Are  there tags underneath the coins?

Thanks! No I kind of gave up on using tags and just store them in a box instead. If I had nice handwriting I'd probably make my own but instead I manage all the info about my coins through digital means (my website + Google Sheets). One thing to note for those who do like having tags with their coins, the circular bits of velvet are removable from the trays (presumably to make cleaning them easier), so you could perhaps tuck your tags under the velvet for a cleaner look while also keeping them organised.

44 minutes ago, nikitov said:

Yay! I wanna get one now. I was thinking of saving up for Peter Nichols cabinet to store my crummy coins but this one is much cheaper & looks nice too.

Omfg the Royal Mint is ripping everyone off by reselling his cabinets for 130 lbs more than on his website & you can't even customize hole sizes.

How deep are the holes? Do they fit all your chunky greek coins? You have a lot of Aspendos staters. I like the one on the second to bottom row in the middle since it's in an incuse square 😃 Also that phoenician dishekel looks nice, I've always wanted one

You can find a lot of Peter Nichols cabinets being sold second-hand at auction for a good discount, though of course you're stuck with the trays they come with. I can't remember exactly why I chose Rob over Peter's, I think I partly liked the design more, maybe the price too, and it was a bit easier to understand what you get from Rob's website versus Peter's. I may be wrong but I have some vague memory Peter isn't making the cabinets himself anymore but apologies if that's not correct, it just rings a bell.

The standard recess on Rob's trays are 6mm I think but he recessed mine to 7mm because I have a few chunky coins. There's also some clearance between the next tray above as well so 7mm should be plenty for a collection of most ancients.

Edited July 2, 2022 by Kaleun96

[sand]

@Kaleun96 Nice cabinet. You have a nice collection of large silver pieces. Are the round green fabric inserts made of coarse wool?

Edited July 2, 2022 by sand

[NathanB]

6 hours ago, Kaleun96 said:

My new mahogany coin cabinet just arrived this week and I could not be more pleased with it. I ordered it from Rob Davis Cabinets in the UK just before the New Year and while it was only meant to take about 6-10 weeks, rather than nearly 6 months, in the end it was definitely worth it and Rob's craftsmanship is top tier as far as I can tell. The drop door, for example, fits just perfectly into the gap with a satisfying sound and the gaps around the door are evenly spaced and minimal. There's also nice attention to detail with the wood grain arrangement and the finishing on all the edges.

This model has 6 trays and you can choose the recess depth and from three different "sizes". I went for 7mm deep recesses and the following trays:

• 1x 45mm holes, 12 holes per tray
• 3x 35mm holes, 20 holes per tray
• 2x 28mm holes, 30 holes per tray

Now for the photo spam...

That right there is a thing of great beauty.  I am very happy for you, though envious, too!

[Herodotus]

Classy.

[Octavius]

 Incredibly beautiful. It's a work of art in itself.

[Steve]

That's super cool, Kaleun96 (congrats)

😎

[Furryfrog02]

That is a beautiful cabinet. I checked out the site and the prices aren't terrible. I can't imagine what the shipping to USA would be though.

[Kaleun96]

5 hours ago, Furryfrog02 said:

That is a beautiful cabinet. I checked out the site and the prices aren't terrible. I can't imagine what the shipping to USA would be though.

Thanks! It was £80 to Sweden so not terrible but that may push it over the line for some. Personally I think it's still worth it though. 

[wittwolff]

Thats very nice. When I made my apprenticeship as a carpender I did want to build me a cabinet for myself but my workshops master adviced me not to plan in all the drawers a real coin cabinet would need. Every carpender has to design and build an own piece of furniture as last step of his apprenticeship in germany.  So I build a cabinet that would just fit my coin cases and some tools in the drawer. Luckily I was allowed to use some old mahogany that was laying around in the workshop for ages and this is where store a big part of my collection now. One day I might build some fitting tableaus to replace the cases.

In the detail it is definitely not as masterfully crafted as yours but I'am am/was just a beginner 😉

Edited July 3, 2022 by wittwolff

[Kaleun96]

12 hours ago, sand said:

@Kaleun96 Nice cabinet. You have a nice collection of large silver pieces. Are the round green fabric inserts made of coarse wool?

Thanks! I believe the fabric inserts are felt, I might look to replace them with velvet at some stage though.

1 hour ago, wittwolff said:

Thats very nice. When I made my apprenticeship as a carpender I did want to build me a cabinet for myself but my workshops master adviced me not to plan in all the drawers a real coin cabinet would need. Every carpender has to design and build an own piece of furniture as last step of his apprenticeship in germany.  So I build a cabinet that would just fit my coin cases and some tools in the drawer. Luckily I was allowed to use some old mahogany that was laying around in the workshop for ages and this is where store a big part of my collection now. One day I might build some fitting tableaus to replace the cases.

In the detail it is definitely not as masterfully crafted as yours but I'am am/was just a beginner 😉

Wow that's a nice piece of furniture! I've heard about those requirements for completing an apprenticeship in Germany. I love that it is still practiced, it reminds me of Goldmund completing his "masterpiece" in Narcissus and Goldmund 😅

[Al Kowsky]

19 hours ago, Kaleun96 said:

My new mahogany coin cabinet just arrived this week and I could not be more pleased with it. I ordered it from Rob Davis Cabinets in the UK just before the New Year and while it was only meant to take about 6-10 weeks, rather than nearly 6 months, in the end it was definitely worth it and Rob's craftsmanship is top tier as far as I can tell. The drop door, for example, fits just perfectly into the gap with a satisfying sound and the gaps around the door are evenly spaced and minimal. There's also nice attention to detail with the wood grain arrangement and the finishing on all the edges.

This model has 6 trays and you can choose the recess depth and from three different "sizes". I went for 7mm deep recesses and the following trays:

• 1x 45mm holes, 12 holes per tray
• 3x 35mm holes, 20 holes per tray
• 2x 28mm holes, 30 holes per tray

Now for the photo spam...

Wow 😲, beautiful box loaded with stunning coins 😊!

[sand]

1 hour ago, Kaleun96 said:

Thanks! I believe the fabric inserts are felt, I might look to replace them with velvet at some stage though.

I'm wondering, if the felt, is wool felt. I can't tell, from the photos.

I'm not an expert in this area. I'm not certain of any of this. My only knowledge, is based on looking at some threads, on CoinTalk and Forum Ancient Coins. My Abafil coin trays are lined with velvet, therefore I didn't research the wool felt, very much. I was mainly researching the effects of velvet.

In my limited reading, I have read, that a tray, that is lined with wool felt, is bad for coins, if the coins are sitting directly on the wool felt, because wool is scratchy. According to what I read, the friction between the wool felt, and the coins, can cause significant wear, on the coins, eventually, if the trays are moved horizontally many times, for example if the trays are slid in and out of a cabinet. I don't know, if the coarseness of the wool felt, makes a difference. Maybe it does. Maybe it doesn't.

Here is an interesting thread, on Forum Ancient Coins, in which the safety of coin trays is discussed.
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=93219.0 
In the thread, one person said the following :
"The material used in Abafil trays appears to be velvet (to the best of my knowledge made of cotton), while some other types of trays are lined with felt (most appear to be wool). Felt will damage the coins, velvet will not. My coins are stored in Abafil trays, some for nearly fourteen years, and in examining them under magnification and comparing them to the original photos, I cannot detect any damage caused by this method of storage."
In the same thread, Andrew McCabe, a well known collector of ancient Roman Republic coins, said the following :
"I think the distinction to watch for is that sliding trays (drawers in a coin cabinet) will move the coins on their felt every single time the tray is pulled out, whereas lifted out trays in a box won't, unless the box itself is shook about. I've seen photos of coin surfaces being destroyed by wool felt, really bad damage, so its worth being aware of. However whatever is in abafil tray felt seems to do my coins no harm at all. And I doubt it would be possible to ever damage a worn bronze. FDC silver might be another matter. So, some caution needed but the nature of the trays felt and coins is important."

And I found this thread : https://www.cointalk.com/threads/question-is-there-a-difference-between-satin-and-velvet-coin-trays.297358/#post-2756640 

In which someone said the following : "For example, wool felt is notoriously abrasive, and is known to cause "cabinet wear" to coins over time. Velvet is softer, less abrasive and less risky than wool felt."

And this thread : https://www.cointalk.com/threads/two-storage-questions.268585/#post-2235811 

In which someone said the following : "I would advise keeping your coins away from the following ... Any cabinet with Wool-felt or any other non-synthetic insert. Several years of pulling your trays will scratch/wear the surface of the coin that is in contact with the insert."

Edited July 3, 2022 by sand

[Kaleun96]

2 hours ago, sand said:

I'm wondering, if the felt, is wool felt. I can't tell, from the photos.

I'm not an expert in this area. I'm not certain of any of this. My only knowledge, is based on looking at some threads, on CoinTalk and Forum Ancient Coins. My Abafil coin trays are lined with velvet, therefore I didn't research the wool felt, very much. I was mainly researching the effects of velvet.

In my limited reading, I have read, that a tray, that is lined with wool felt, is bad for coins, if the coins are sitting directly on the wool felt, because wool is scratchy. According to what I read, the friction between the wool felt, and the coins, can cause significant wear, on the coins, eventually, if the trays are moved horizontally many times, for example if the trays are slid in and out of a cabinet. I don't know, if the coarseness of the wool felt, makes a difference. Maybe it does. Maybe it doesn't.

Here is an interesting thread, on Forum Ancient Coins, in which the safety of coin trays is discussed.
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=93219.0 
In the thread, one person said the following :
"The material used in Abafil trays appears to be velvet (to the best of my knowledge made of cotton), while some other types of trays are lined with felt (most appear to be wool). Felt will damage the coins, velvet will not. My coins are stored in Abafil trays, some for nearly fourteen years, and in examining them under magnification and comparing them to the original photos, I cannot detect any damage caused by this method of storage."
In the same thread, Andrew McCabe, a well known collector of ancient Roman Republic coins, said the following :
"I think the distinction to watch for is that sliding trays (drawers in a coin cabinet) will move the coins on their felt every single time the tray is pulled out, whereas lifted out trays in a box won't, unless the box itself is shook about. I've seen photos of coin surfaces being destroyed by wool felt, really bad damage, so its worth being aware of. However whatever is in abafil tray felt seems to do my coins no harm at all. And I doubt it would be possible to ever damage a worn bronze. FDC silver might be another matter. So, some caution needed but the nature of the trays felt and coins is important."

And I found this thread : https://www.cointalk.com/threads/question-is-there-a-difference-between-satin-and-velvet-coin-trays.297358/#post-2756640 

In which someone said the following : "For example, wool felt is notoriously abrasive, and is known to cause "cabinet wear" to coins over time. Velvet is softer, less abrasive and less risky than wool felt."

And this thread : https://www.cointalk.com/threads/two-storage-questions.268585/#post-2235811 

In which someone said the following : "I would advise keeping your coins away from the following ... Any cabinet with Wool-felt or any other non-synthetic insert. Several years of pulling your trays will scratch/wear the surface of the coin that is in contact with the insert."

Nice summary of info! "Tray wear" was an aspect I considered when switching from stacked trays to cabinets but my impression was that both velvet and felt will polish a coin over time, though perhaps velvet slower than felt. I take my coins out pretty rarely as is so for now I'm not too worried but just for aesthetics I'd like to upgrade to velvet at some point.

I wonder if there are any studies on this, not necessarily with coins but just using either material as an abrasive/polishing cloth and measuring the effect of each. It's not that I don't believe the people you quoted, only that it's common in hobbies to find that anecdotes of this nature are either contradictory or simply perpetuated over time until they become "fact" without any real testing of the matter.

Looks like there are a few, but limited, studies on the matter (ex1, ex2) but they concern other fabrics, though the author of the first paper has supposedly followed up that paper with testing on more fabrics. Would be interesting to dig into it more when I have some time. The key is of course not only whether velvet is less abrasive than felt (seems likely) but by how much and what that means in the context of coins.

Out of curiosity, I just played around with pulling out / pushing in a few trays in my new cabinet and I honestly can't see the coins move much, if at all - particularly the heavier ones. I don't doubt that there is some tiny movement of the coin perhaps shifting weight slightly or even rotating on a high point etc, but I suspect you get the same movement from picking up stacked trays. I would even say for the stacked trays in a case, you'd be hard-pressed to take a tray out without the coins moving at least as much.

[Jeremy]

Beautiful cabinet! 

[Kazuma78]

@Kaleun96 that is a beautiful cabinet and display! The craftmanship is excellent and it looks like his patterning is very well planned and executed. I have done some fine woodworking myself, but not for a coin cabinet. From experience, I can say that it is difficult to get everything to look so crisp and clean. Again, beautiful cabinet and very well executed. I would also say his prices are reasonable for the quality of the cabinet. 

[Kaleun96]

26 minutes ago, Kazuma78 said:

@Kaleun96 that is a beautiful cabinet and display! The craftmanship is excellent and it looks like his patterning is very well planned and executed. I have done some fine woodworking myself, but not for a coin cabinet. From experience, I can say that it is difficult to get everything to look so crisp and clean. Again, beautiful cabinet and very well executed. I would also say his prices are reasonable for the quality of the cabinet. 

Thanks, good to hear that from someone with a bit of experience! I felt like I could recognise the main signs of quality in the fit and finish (e.g. there's a big difference in this regard compared to some handmade oak bedside tables I recently bought on etsy) but I don't really know enough about woodworking/cabinetmaking to spot the more subtle details that someone like yourself would surely pick up on.

[Spaniard]

Wonderful piece of workmanship full of wonderful pieces of workmanship ...Lovely!🥰